Programming/Coding in Games

[riadsala]

Ok, so this is obviously inspired by the other two threads! But it got me thinking: a lot of pc gamers appear to have at least some basic knowledge of computer programming, or an interest in learning. A lot of us actually enjoy creating programs and puzzle solving! And I'm sure quite a lot of people who program also play some games.

are there any games that involve coding as a game mechanic? Usually, "hacking" is treated as a simplistic match 3 puzzle game something.

The only example I can think of just now is Spacechem. And Notch is planning on having a programmable computer in the space game he's working on, but I don't think many details have been released.

Any other ideas?

[SanguineAngel]

Could this be the ticket? http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/...ateral-cowboy/

[kstress71]

I heard about Code Hero from a podcast awhile back. It supposedly teaches game coding in Unity using a game interface. I haven't played it myself, so I can't speak to its effectiveness in that area (I'm skeptical).

[aoanla]

B.A.T., which is old enough that it was released on the Amiga, Atari ST and PC (and I think the C64) (http://www.mobygames.com/game/bat ) gave you a wrist-mounted computer that you could do very simple programming on, IIRC.

[Berzee]

Haha, I just remembered that The Island of Dr. Brain required you to program these little robots to solve a puzzle. (The "programming" was just directional instructions, but the different robots would interpret the instructions in different ways).

Digital: A Love Story gives a weird feeling of being a leet phone phreaker but without doing any actual haxxingz. =P

Haven't played any games with actual coding-coding in them though...

[mrpier]

Minecraft, sort of. Has a programmable block and mods have added computers which I think you can program with forth.

[deano2099]

http://www.tomjubert.com/irrational - Ir/rational teaches the basics of formal logic which underpin programming.

The combat systems in Final Fantasy XII and (to a lesser extent) Dragon Age let you set up really simple bots based of a sort of programming language. I'm sure there are examples of similar things in strategy games, where you effectively write the AI for units but can't think of which now.

[MeltdownInteractiveMedia]

There is a game called Hacker Evolution that I know of...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dqrBW7ZOlI

[Ritashi]

You can build a computer from scratch in Minecraft, without mods - I remember seeing a Minecraft in Minecraft vid a while back (simple 2d in I think an 8x8 grid, but it had gravity, physics, jumping, and block placement/removal). I've done a simple ALU myself, as well as designing some low level components for other machines. It's fun, and I had a great time in Computer Architecture class by building basic components in Minecraft as the teacher lectured about them - I made it a race to complete each part before she moved on to the next one.

[pakoito]

Nobody cites Uplink? Ok, it's just minigames but still.

[Danny252]

And Notch is planning on having a programmable computer in the space game he's working on, but I don't think many details have been released.

The spec for the CPU and other bits are out: http://0x10cwiki.com/wiki/DCPU-16

(Strange how I've gone from "so complicated!" 6 months ago to "my god how can you code anything with so few opcodes D:" now...)

[Bobtree]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core_War

[Mohorovicic]

Programming != Scripting

[Lukasz]

Programming != Scripting

explain please?

[Rossi]

He says, Programming does not equal Scripting.

Well that depends. I am a software developer, I don't develop games (wish I did) but I write software for business/local government.

Depends how define it, a piece of programming code could be described as a script as it's something the computer follows and executes. I suppose scripting in this sense would be something that runs on top of existing program code which affects the outcome of said program. It's not something developed from scratch, rather just something that executes in tandem.

[Kaira-]

Programming != Scripting

Programming is programming is programming. I mean, I do sneer at script languages, but they are programming all right. Now HTML on the other hand...

[Rossi]

Programming is programming is programming. I mean, I do sneer at script languages, but they are programming all right. Now HTML on the other hand...

Yes. Beware of purists though. This conversation could get out of hand very quickly

[Unaco]

Dark Signs or Dark Signs Online.

[b0rsuk]

How about LEGO ? Here's the world's fastest Rubik Cube solver. Beats the human record by a fraction of a second.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d0LfkIut2M

[Rotekian]

If your looking for programming games the best place to go is currently: http://programminggames.org/

Most of the games listed are pretty ancient though.